I am a Texan, born and raised in the Rio Grande Valley. I spent almost 10 years in Houston before moving to the mid-Atlantic in 2009. Rice University is my alma mater, and my first library job was at the University of Houston. Houston is where I learned to be a librarian, and really, an adult. I love that city so much that my family and I decided to spend our sabbatical year in town. Our place, our things, our family is fine. But others cannot say the same. So I want to spend this post sharing all the ways in which you can help Houston, Rockport, Dickinson, Corpus Christi, Port Arthur, Beaumont, and all the small Texas towns that felt the brunt of Harvey’s destruction.

I understand we are not all in a position to give financially, nor are we all in close enough proximity to lend a pair of hands or a hammer, so I would just ask for your emotional support for folks suffering in Harvey’s wake. Chances are you wouldn’t read that national article bad-mouthing Houston to a group of evacuees sheltering at the George R. Brown Convention Center, so don’t post it on Facebook or Twitter.